China signed a 25-year agreement Thursday with Royal Dutch Shell PLC and Qatargas to buy three million tons of liquid natural gas a year from Qatar.
The agreement signed in Beijing will supply liquid gas from the Qatargas 4 project in Qatar, which is still under development, to PetroChina's gas terminal, Shell said in a statement.
Qatar, the world's largest exporter of liquid natural gas, is set to expand production to 77 million tons per year by 2010. Chinese companies already have long-term supply agreements with projects in Australia, Indonesia and Malaysia, the announcement said.
The Qatargas 4 is a partnership between Qatar Petroleum, which owns 70 percent, and Shell, which owns the remainder.
Liquid natural gas is natural gas that has been cooled until it reaches liquid form and can be moved by sea.
